Dream Scenario

The Plot: Family man and university professor Paul (Nicolas Cage) is an otherwise unremarkable man, whose friends even call him a bit boring. Not for much longer. People suddenly start recognising him in a hesitant way. They all have something in common: they’re having collective dreams about dangerous situations in which a man looking like Paul enters their dreams in a passive manner. His wife Janet (Julianne Nicholson) finds this to be rather strange, along with the newfound fame and attention that Paul is getting. There is a limit to this fame though and what it means for their family…

The Verdict: What if the man of your dreams turned out to be just the man in your dreams? A sort-of benevolent figure that provides a calming influence in a stressful situation… but who also holds the potential for darkness? Move aside, Freddy Krueger. There’s another dream stalker in town. That’s the wildly amusing and dynamite concept behind A24’s latest film Dream Scenario. There’s more than a touch of Charlie Kaufman here. Had it not been written and directed by Norway’s Kristoffer Borgli, who made the equally offbeat Sick Of Myself recently, then one might very well imagine this being a Kaufman enterprise with its relatable dream logic, particularly wired sense of humour and attention to character detail. It even successfully mashes up different genres – comedy, thriller, horror and a dash of Christopher Nolan-like science fiction. It’s very original though.

Borgli’s script is a thing of strange beauty. It doesn’t overexplain its concept or try to find an obvious answer to what’s going on with Paul and his presence in other people’s dreams. It just simply places itself into an everyday world with normal characters going about their business, but who find a shared experience through Paul. He becomes a celebrity and enjoys the attention, even going about re-enacting a dream in reality for an obsessed fangirl. She works for a company that wants Paul to monetise his dreams by including product placement in a sly nod to The Truman Show. However, the dark side of fame takes over and he becomes persona non grata. The fact that Paul has no control over his dream alter ego becomes one of the film’s many smart moves in showing how fickle the nature of fame – and dream scenarios / nightmares – can be.

If it sounds like heavygoing material to engage with, it’s not really. There’s a lightness of touch and a sprinkling of whimsy throughout, aided along by Borgli’s unfussy direction. Ari Aster is a producer on the film, having delivered his own waking nightmare / panic attack of a film with Beau Is Afraid earlier this year. Dream Scenario is more user friendly though, even when it goes off on a tangent as Paul’s dream presence spreads into Europe (the artistic French, of course, are the most willing to accept him). It’s easy enough to be swept along with the agreeably daft twisting turns of the plot, although Borgli stumbles somewhat in explaining away Paul’s later status and finding a neat resolution for this. There’s no faulting Cage though, a better match for this material than Aster’s original choice of Adam Sandler (no slouch himself). In a finely-tuned, low-key performance Cage finds ways to make Paul pathetic, confused, loveable and darkly funny from scene to scene. It’s another winning performance from Cage, who has found a new gear in his long-running career. Long may it continue.

If one is willing to overlook some of Dream Scenario’s more wobbly moments, there’s much to enjoy here. There’s a nicely-balanced mix of elements and fine performances which add up to a dream of a movie which is worth waking up from.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review by Gareth O’Connor